Dead Presidents

Maybe, but Kissinger had that Talleyrand problem where he was a survivor, but he had no real power base.  I’m not the biggest fan of Kissinger and I think he was overrated.  Kissinger had many strengths, but until the last few months of the Watergate scandal, our foreign policy was definitely Nixon’s foreign policy.  Kissinger saw the world in a different way and approached diplomacy from different angles, but Nixon put him where he was and Kissinger was never the power behind the throne that he liked to portray himself as.

That’s not to downgrade Kissinger’s intelligence or influence, but I think it’s important to remember Nixon’s place, as well.  And back to your question, I don’t think Kissinger was tough enough to handle the everyday back-and-forth of electoral politics.  Just look at how many times he handed in his resignation when he felt slighted.